Shapiro, Leo

Ecology

Prey consumption by large medusae such as the Pacific Sea Nettle can have a major impact in structuring ecological communities (Brodeur et al. 2002; Brodeur et al. 2008). For example, in a a study in the Bering Sea, Brodeur et al. (2002) estimated that the Northern Sea Nettle (a close relative of the Pacific Sea Nettle) consumed a third of the standing stock of zooplankton during the summer season. Based on research focused on biologically rich coastal upwelling regions off the coast of Oregon and northern California, Suchman et al. (2008) and Brodeur et al. (2008) concluded that when the Pacific Sea Nettle and other medusae are seasonally abundant they have the potential to significantly deplete the standing stock of vulnerable prey and to compete with predatory fish feeding on similar prey items in the northern California Current.